EU grant to revitalise cashew industry

Mozambique's ailing cashew nut industry received a financial boost this week from a US $3.9 million grant by the European Union. The funds are expected to support a four-year food security programme run by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), which has operated in Mozambique since 1987. The programme will start running in January 2004 in the central province of Inhambane, Mozambique, and target 7,500 rural households, mainly subsistence farmers and their families. Around 45,000 people will benefit. "Our independent research among rural communities shows that there is an urgent need to revitalise cashew production. At one time cashew production served many families well. If we focus our attention on the industry, we can contribute to food security and tackle poverty," ADRA acting director, Ronald Sanboval, told IRIN. He added that one of the key features of the programme would be the establishment of district development centres for cashews, as well as community nurseries and new cashew plantations. Market liberalisation, under the advice of the World Bank during the 1990s, crippled Mozambique's cashew nut processing industry. The World Bank argued that liberalisation would improve the prices paid to farmers for their nuts. However, it was found that the benefits of liberalisation mainly went to the traders, not the farmers. Under the ADRA programme farmers will be trained in "integrated cashew management reforestation, improved agricultural and storage techniques to reduce losses, marketing skills, and the production of improved food crops, fruits and vegetables." ADRA has projects in four provinces and 10 districts across Mozambique. Thousands of Mozambicans living in the southern and central provinces are suffering from drought; almost one million will need food aid in the coming year. Mozambique's food crisis is due in part to the failure of the 2003 harvest, but an aggravating factor is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is estimated that 1.4 million Mozambicans are now living with HIV/AIDS - a tragedy that is compromising the country's ability to feed itself.